Phenomenography — a “good‐for‐nothing brother” of phenomenology? Outline of an analysis

This article will argue that five different ways of doing phenomenography can be found amongst the works of Gothenburg phenomenographers: Discursive, Experimental, Naturalistic, Hermeneutic and Phenomenological. Commenting on an earlier version of phenomenography, Jacob Needleman stated that it was “a ‘good‐for‐nothing’ brother of phenomenology”. We will argue that it is not. It is productive research, even if at times the degree of methodological reflection applied by phenomenographers to their work is found wanting. Two of five forms of Gothenburg phenomenography can be developed by recourse to phenomenology.     

The phenomenography tradition in the study of classroom teaching

ABSTRACT

Phenomenography is internationally well-known for its use in studying learning and teaching in educational settings. This paper begins with the discussion of two approaches reported in the literature to study classroom teaching in the phenomenography tradition. The paper goes on to put forward a third approach that is in essence to return to the original idea of phenomenography and use observation of teaching activities for identifying the qualitatively different ways of seeing the object of learning. Observational data are collected and analysed by categorizing the teaching activities according to the ways of seeing that emerge from the data. This approach has been developed from a number of our projects on learning to teach Chinese. In this paper, the focus of the discussion is on the differences in the methodological assumptions underlying the three approaches to study teaching in the phenomenography tradition.     

Language teachers’ responses to educational research: addressing the ‘crisis’ of representation

ABSTRACT

While teachers are being called upon to turn to educational research and find evidence of ‘what works’, critics argue that research often suffers from a crisis of representation. They contend that research reports fail to sufficiently capture the lived experiences of research participants. In this article, I present insights gleaned from 12 in-service teachers who read and responded to a research-based article published in a peer-reviewed journal. Data were collected from the participants’ threaded discussions on a wiki discussion board and individual in-depth interviews. The analysis of data suggests that the participants viewed the research article as both a means of representation and a potential obstacle to it. Contrary to the crisis rhetoric, the majority of participants were not too concerned about the issue of representation. They interpreted the theoretical knowledge presented in the article in light of their past experiences and socio-material contexts of work. I use the concept of recognition to illustrate their interpretive readings of the research article. I conclude the article with a discussion of how a recognitive approach to representation may help us re-conceptualize the dissemination and utilization of educational research in the current climate of evidence-based practice.     

Variation theory and the different ways of experiencing educational policy

Differences and contradictions in understanding education policies such as ‘Teach Less, learn More’ may cause confusion between the intended meaning and actual implementation. Approaches to understanding public policy, such as discourse analysis, are useful for highlighting such differences, but do not explain how these differences may be explained in relation to each other. Phenomenography and variation theory offer an alternative, by examining the variation within, rather than the differences between, experiences of an educational policy. In the past decade, there have been significant developments in the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of phenomenography which were initially labeled as ‘new phenomenography’, but gradually came to accepted as variation theory. In this article, I trace the development of phenomenography to variation theory and explain the critical differences between classical phenomenography and variation theory. I argue that variation theory is useful for describing educational policy from the perspective of how it is experienced, and that these different ways of experiencing a policy may in turn be understood and utilised in theoretical, analytical and pedagogical ways.     

Should education be transformative?

ABSTRACT

It has become commonplace within the educational research community to invoke the transformative power of education. The call to adopt a ‘transformative’ approach to teaching and learning can be heard in fields as different as adult education and school leadership and as estranged as social justice education and educational psychology. While there is undoubtedly great promise in the idea of transformative education, the fact that it involves deep psychological restructuring on the part of the student requires ethical justification. In this article, I analyze the three most pressing ethical problems that arise within a transformative educational environment: the problems of transformative consent, controversial direction and transformative trauma. In the concluding section, I argue that this ethical analysis urges us to adopt an approach to transformative education as a process of initiation.     

What Future for Phenomenographic Research? On Continuity and Development in the Phenomenography and Variation Theory Research Tradition

Volume 60(3) of the Scandanavian Journal of Educational Research is a special issue on current trends in the phenomenography and variation theory research tradition. In the introduction to the special issue, Rovio-Johansson and Ingerman look towards the potential theoretical and methodological future of phenomenography and pose two questions: “Is phenomenography complete and finalised with no further development necessary?” and “Is phenomenography relatively insignificant in the future development of the tradition as it has been transcended by variation theory?” The aim of this paper is to address these two questions, and in the process elaborate the relationship between phenomenography and variation theory in educational research.     

Mixed methods research in inquiry-based instruction: an integrative review

ABSTRACT

This integrative literature review takes up the ongoing discussion about the place of mixed methods designs in educational research. We focus on studies that investigate the role of argumentation in inquiry-based learning, either as a means for enhancing inquiry (argument-based inquiry) or as a learning outcome (inquiry-based argument). We argue that this field of research offers a perfect example of the ways in which a paradigm and its research questions call for mixed-methods designs. We then present an integrative review to explore patterns and identify gaps in the literature, asking: (1) How frequently and in what ways are mixed methods used in the field? (2) What rationales are driving the use of mixed methods? and (3) To what extent is the potential of mixed methods research being realized in the field?. For readers studying argumentation in inquiry-based instruction, we hope to open up a critical dialogue about aims and methodologies in the field. For readers interested in mixed-methods designs we hope to offer a case study of how to build a rationale from within a discipline for leveraging the range of mixed methodologies to study a problem. We conclude with recommendations for further research.     

Aversive education: Emersonian variations on ‘Bildung’

Abstract

The paper discusses Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thought in relation to the German Bildung tradition. For many, Bildung still signifies a valuable achievement of modern educational thought as well as a critical, emancipatory ideal which, frequently in a rather nostalgic manner, is appealed to in order to delineate problematic tendencies of current educational trends. Others, in an at times rather cynical manner, claim that Bildung through its successful institutionalization has shaped vital features of our present educational system and has thus served its time and lost its critical potential. When thinking through Emerson’s variations on Bildung I argue against the nostalgic appeals to Bildung that the criticism against it has to be taken seriously. Against the cynical assessment of Bildung having run its course, I will hold that with Emerson we can develop the idea of an ‘aversive education’ as a call for Bildung to be turned upon itself, allowing to revive it as a conceptual tool for transformation, drawing particular attention to its political dimension.     

Seen,unseen, and unforeseen dangers: what a White emerging scholar learned about positionality in research with racially diverse practitioners

Abstract

Framed by autoethnographic methods, I use Milner’s framework for researching around race and culture to critically analyze my work as a researcher with a group of diverse educational administrators. I identify seen, unseen, and unforeseen dangers that I experienced in my research as a white doctoral student and university professor, and consider how they impact my development as an educational researcher. I conclude with implications for doctoral students as emerging scholars interested in researching race as well as implications for researchers working with elites.     

Feeling Heard: Inclusive Education,Transformative Learning,and Productive Struggle

Developments in international inclusive education policy, including in prominent UN documents, often refer to the aim of a quality education for all. Yet, it remains unclear: What exactly is meant by quality education? And, under what conditions are quality educational experiences possible for all learners? In this essay, Diana Murdoch, Andrea English, Allison Hintz, and Kersti Tyson bring together research on inclusive education with philosophy of transformative learning, in particular John Dewey and phenomenology, to further the discussion on these two questions. The authors argue that teacher–learner relationships, of a particular kind, are necessary for fostering environments wherein all learners have access to quality educational experiences associated with productive struggle as an indispensable aspect of transformative learning processes. They define such relationships as “educational relationships that support students to feel heard.” In developing their argument, the authors first analyze the concept of productive struggle, an aspect of learning increasingly recognized in research and policy as an indicator of quality education. Second, they discuss three necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for the teacher to cultivate educational relationships that support students to feel heard. Third, they draw out connections between environments that support feeling heard and those that support productive struggle, and they discuss teachers' challenges and risk-taking in creating such environments. The authors close with a discussion of implications for international policy, practice, and research.     

Changing our minds: a commentary on ‘Conceptual change: a discussion of theoretical, methodological and practical challenges for science education’

This paper begins with a consideration of some important themes dealt with in the paper by Treagust and Duit. These include the relationship between research on conceptual change and educational practice, the significance of emotion and identity in the process of conceptual change, and role of cognitive conflict in motivating change. I then argue that the authors implicitly assert the importance of spoken dialogue as a motor for conceptual change, but do not give it the proper, explicit recognition that it deserves. I first use their own data of transcribed talk to make this point, and then go on to elaborate my case by drawing on other research. Talk amongst students and teacher–student talk are both considered. My conclusion is that while more empirical research is needed to understand how dialogue is involved in conceptual change, available evidence shows very clearly that the role of talk and social interaction is so significant that it cannot be ignored. It is therefore necessary for theoretical accounts to deal with both social (i.e. communicative) and cognitive aspects of conceptual change.

On historical thinking and the history educational challenge

Abstract

The notion of historical thinking has in recent years become popular in research on history education, particularly so in North America, the UK and Australia. The aim of this paper is to discuss the cognitive competencies related to historical thinking, as expressed by some influential Canadian researchers, as an history educational notion from two aspects: what is historical thinking and what does it mean in an educational context, and what are the consequences of historical thinking for history education? Our discussion will focus on possible implications of this approach to history education regarding what should be taught in history classrooms and why. By focusing on the notion of historicity, we want to argue that while a focus on a more disciplinary approach to history education is welcome, we think that more attention should be given to what could qualify as a disciplinary approach. We further argue historical thinking and the history educational challenge should be understood as wider and more complex than what history education informed by historical thinking entails.     

A social epistemology for educational administration and leadership

ABSTRACT

As a field of knowledge production, educational administration and leadership scholars do a substantial amount of talking past one another. These parallel monologues are a major issue for the advancement of knowledge. Original contributions can only be made in relation to others. That is, the innovation or significance of scholarship is an act of (social) scientific distinction. This means purposely engaging with the other. In this paper, I argue that the knowledge frontiers of educational administration and leadership are highly fragmented and siloed. I do not, however, see diversity of scholarship as a fatal flaw nor do I argue for a form of knowledge centrism. Rather, my intervention is to propose a social epistemology for moving knowledge claims.     

After the Laughter

Abstract

We humans laugh often and it is not always because something is funny. We laugh in the face of the pathetic or the powerless; sometimes we laugh at our own powerlessness or pathos.In short, we laugh at both the comical and the difficult. Here I am especially interested in the laughter that is sparked by what is difficult and how that laughter—and all laughter—breaks through to mark a range of emotional states: fear, nervousness, shame, confusion and others not viewed as positive, as well as joy, delight, interest, relief and other states that are viewed as positive. I also am interested in understanding what and how laughter reveals and what and how it conceals. As I explore both interests in this article, I make a compound point about laughter in educational settings: that laughter marks a breakdown of experience and that same laughter creates space for reflective listening and thinking, for diffusion of difficult affect, and for the disruption of habit that makes growth possible (and even likely) if that laughter is taken seriously.     

A Feminist Posthumanist Multispecies Ethnography for Educational Studies

The animal or more-than-human turn in the humanities and social sciences has challenged nature/culture binaries in the fields of environmental education and early childhood studies, yet the field of educational studies has yet to confront its humanist roots. In this article, I sketch a nascent conceptual framework that outlines how multispecies ethnography, as a methodology informed by critical strands of feminist posthumanism, can begin to address and redress both social and species injustices in educational studies. To do this, I first provide a brief overview of educational humanism to situate the article within the animal and more-than-human turns in education. I then define multispecies ethnography and briefly review educational multispecies ethnographic research. Next, I sketch the conceptual framework, which is guided by feminist posthumanist theories of performativity and intersectionality, providing ethnographic examples from my own research projects and the research literature. I conclude by drawing out the implications for educational studies, with a consideration of how animal performativity and intersectionality open up new lines of inquiry to explore animal concerns, as well as social ones.     

Special education,inclusion and democracy

Initially, it is pointed out that adherents of a psycho‐medical perspective often suggest exclusive solutions to special educational dilemmas and that such theorizing has been heavily attacked in past decades. However, it is argued that opposition of the psycho‐medical understanding of special education runs the risk of blurring differences between researchers and practitioners who are more positive about inclusion. One aim of this paper is to disentangle different perspectives on special education and different notions of inclusion among those positive to the idea of inclusion. A second aim is to argue for the necessity of situating the discussion about inclusion and special education within a discussion about democracy and the role of social science within it. Such a discussion seems even more important, given the range of positions discerned in the first part of the paper. In the concluding section of the paper, a proposal is presented for how special education, democracy and inclusion could be related to one another and for the role of research within these relationships. An important argument advanced is that the issue of who is to decide is analytically prior to what is to be decided with regard to inclusive practices.     

Complexity Conceptual Perspectives for Research About Educational Complex Systems

Abstract

This article is premised on the observation that in educational research there is an increasing use of terminology and concepts related to the field of complexity and the study of complex physical, biological, and social systems. As we are at an early stage in this cross-fertilization of complex systems ideas and methods in educational research, this article provides an overview of key complex systems conceptual perspectives and research methods in conjunction with a discussion of why educational researchers should consider their use. It is hoped that this overview of complex systems concepts and nomenclature used to describe research that views education as a complex system will help promote a broader awareness and acceptance of this work in the educational research community.     

‘To Catch at and Let Go’: David Bakhurst,Phenomenology and Post‐phenomenology

This paper examines David Bakhurst's attempt to provide a picture of ‘the kinds of beings we are’ that is ‘more realistic’ than rationalism. I argue that there is much that is rich and compelling in Bakhurst's account. Yet I also question whether there are ways in which it could be taken further. I introduce the discussion by exploring Bakhurst's engagement with phenomenology and, more specifically, Hubert Dreyfus—who enters Bakhurst's horizon on account of his inheritance of the philosophy of John McDowell. Whilst I recognise that Bakhurst's encounter with Dreyfus demonstrates his achievements—over rationalism and over Dreyfus—I also suggest that it opens up certain questions that remain to be asked of his position on account of its conceptualism. These questions originate, not from a Dreyfusian phenomenological perspective, but from the post‐phenomenological perspective of Jacques Derrida. Through appealing to key Derridean tropes, I aim to show why the conceptual idiom Bakhurst retains may hold us back from understanding the open nature of human thought. I end by considering what therefore needs to come—and what needs to be let go—in order to best do justice to the ‘kinds of beings we are’.     

Boundary-crossing academic mobilities in glocal knowledge economies: new research agendas based on triadic thought

ABSTRACT

This editorial introduction identifies a need for more multidimensional and collective theorizations of boundary-crossing academic mobilities in order to conceptualise this phenomenon, compare empirical findings, and identify new research perspectives. My suggestion is that triadic thought – or the thinking in three rather than two conceptual categories – overcomes some of the limitations that binary thought has imposed on social theory. By transforming the three conceptual dyads that frame this special issue on boundary-crossing academic mobilities, namely mobility/migration, students/academics, and local/global, into more differentiated relational triads, I argue that ordering and framing studies on academic and other mobilities through three-by-three matrices grounded in triadic thought helps to advance conceptual debate and unfold a wider research agenda in truly collective ways.